Vault and casket combination



United States Patent O 2,848,780 VAULT AND GASKET COMBINATION Robert W. Gosnell, Shillington, Pa. Application May 31, 1956, Serial No. 588,381 1 Claim. (Cl. 27-7) This invention relates to a vault and casket combination, and, more particularly, to such combination made entirely of laminated fiberglass and its cementing 4solutions and sealing compounds.

Vault and casket combinations of conventional design are often made of metal. However, such designs have the outstanding objection of being corrosive, somewhat heavy in construction, and being rather diicult to seal or, at least, to provide a seal which will remain leakproof for long periods of time.

An object of my invention is to provide a vault and casket combination which is devoid of the above named disadvantages and which is relatively light in weight, inexpensive and which can be easily and effectively sealed so as to provide a unit which will remain leakproof for very long periods of time.

A more specific object of my invention is to provide a novel vault and casket combination made entirely of laminated fiberglass and its cementing solutions or compounds, and which is lighter and stronger than metal caskets of equal weight and which will withstand the deteriorating effects of the soil.

Other objects and advantages of the present invention will become apparent from a study of the following description taken with the accompanying drawing, wherein:

Figure 1 is a perspective view of a vault and casket combination embodying the present invention and wherein a corner portion is shown cut away to more clearly illustrate the interior construction;

Figure 2 is an enlarged, fragmentary, transverse, crosssectional view more clearly showing the manner of interitting and sealing of the various elements; and

Figures 3, 4 and 5 show various modifications illustrating different shapes of corners that may be used.

Referring more particularly to Figures l and 2 of the drawing, numeral 1 denotes the base portion of the casket which is made of a plastic sheet, preferably a fiberglass sheet, that is, one having a filling of random oriented, glass wool bers. If desired, however, the bers may be oriented in the form of a woven fabric or cloth, however, greater strength appears obtainable from random oriented glass libers or other reinforcing bers. Base portion 1 has upturned, anged end portions 2 and upturned, flanged side portions 3 which form the exterior end and side molding of the casket. The portion of sheet 1 forming the bottom of the casket is strongly reinforced with a sheet 4 of corrugated fiberglass cemented in position. Part 5 is a folded inner lining, also of fiberglass, which forms a perimetrical groove, designed to house or receive the vault cover. It has an outer edge portion 5a which is folded over the top edge of portion 2 to which it may be sealed, if desired.

The vault cover is formed of a fiberglass sheet 6 which is strongly reinforced by a corrugated, reinforcing sheet 7, both also being preferably of fiberglass or other reinforced plastic material. Sheet 6 forms the outer layer or skin which is strengthened by the corrugations of sheet 7. The end portions of the vault cover may be shaped like a portion of a sphere, that is a quarter of a sphere.

If desired, however, the vault cover may have other shapes of corners, such as a rectangular corner as shown in Figure 3, or a rounded corner as shown in Figure 4, or a ilattened corner to form a hexagonal shape as shown in Figure 5.

A sealing compound 8 of any well known type, such as that containing a solvent of the plastic material will seal the vault cover to the casket. That is to say, when the vault cover 6 and its reinforcing corrugated sheet 7 are slipped into the perimetrical groove provided by part 5, a leakproof seal is provided by the sealing compound 8, which extends along the entire perimeter of the casket, so that when the cover is lowered into place, a complete air tight and water tight seal will be provided between the vault cover and the casket, also a seal which is so located that it may not be tampered with without extreme diiculty.

All of the above described parts of the vault and casket are constructed of plastic material, preferably fiberglass reinforced plastic, whereby maximum strength is provided and, in fact, greater strength than a casket of equal weight made of metal. Moreover the casket and vault combination is considerably lighter than metal and may be made of any desired color, that is, either the fiberglass or plastic material may be molded so as to contain a particular color or the color may be painted on.

Thus it will be seen that I have provided an eicient vault and casket combination made entirely of laminated fiberglass and its cementing solutions and sealing compounds, thereby providing a construction which is considerably stronger than a metal unit of equal weight in view of the specific laminated and interlocking construction described; furthermore, I have provided a vault and casket combination which is relatively inexpensive and can be easily manufactured by mass production methods and which will remain sealed in waterproof and airproof condition for an indefinite period of time, also which will not rust or deteriorate but which will withstand the corrosive effects of the soil, thereby providing a permanent, protective enclosure.

While I have illustrated and described an embodiment of my invention, it will be understood that this is by way of illustration only, and that various changes and modifications may be made within the contemplation of my invention and within the scope of the following claim.

I claim:

A vault and casket combination, comprising a sheet of plastic material forming the base, said sheet having integral end and side portions that are flanged by being bent upwardly, then inwardly, and nally upwardly to form end and side moldings, a well forming element of substantially U-shaped cross-section extending throughout the entire inner periphery of the end and side moldings closely adjacent thereto and having sealing material within the bottom thereof, and a plastic cover having a bottom portion which is closely tted in said vwell and sealed to said sealing material to completely seal the cover to the base.

References Cited in the le of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS 1,128,865 Freeman Feb. 16, 1915 1,585,199 Miller May 18, 1926 2,247,617 Metz July l, 1941 OTHER REFERENCES Casket & Sunnyside, March 1945, article: Caskets Postwar, pages 36 to 39; page 39 pertinent. 

